After being a majorleague manager for 27 years, La Russa said he understands the importance of a good general manager and does not underestimate the job that Minaya has done with the Mets.

“He’s not just smart, but he’s aggressive,” La Russa said of Minaya yesterday at a luncheon for the launch of First Equity Benefits of America, a life insurance company. “They’re doing things right.” After beating the Mets in a grueling seven-game NLCS, La Russa knows first hand how good they can be. In Game 6, the Cardinals’ lineup was shut out for 51/3 innings by rookie John Maine, while ace Chris Carpenter let up two earned runs in six innings and left with the loss. “I can’t remember a more hostile environment than Shea,” La Russa said.

“They were booing everything red in sight. They even got after one of our equipment managers.” Although abrasive, La Russa said he reveled in the task of winning under such conditions. “That atmosphere was really a pleasure to play in,” La Russa said.

Of course, this was easy for La Russa to say in hindsight, as Jeff Suppan continued his romp through the playoffs pitching a gem in Game 7 to end the Mets’ season. La Russa’s team eventually went on to win the World Series against the Tigers. It was the Cardinals’ 10th World Championship, their first since 1982.

Although the Cardinals only won 83 games in the regular season, the worst of any team to win a World Series, once the playoffs started, they were a different team.

“Once you get into October, anything can happen,” La Russa said.

The 2006 Cardinals had the 13th most wins in the major leagues this year, stalling at the end of the season and limping their way into the National League wild card. In the divisional series, the Cards took on the NL West champion San Diego Padres, and defeated them in four games. Then St. Louis took on the Mets, where unproven pitchers Anthony Reyes, Jeff Weaver and Suppan pitched to the threshold of their talent.

“Even if you didn’t have a wild card, the playoffs are still a crapshoot.” La Russa also added that postseason failure should not tarnish regular season success.

“The hardest thing in baseball is to play really well for six months,” La Russa said.

The Mets accomplished this feat, winning 97 games in the regular season, and are going to try to repeat that performance next year.

“They got a real good core [of players] coming back next year,” La Russa said of the Mets. “If I were in the National League East, I’d be really concerned about the Mets for several years to come.”